American Idioms – Part two

Expressions that do not mean what they literally say.

Do you know the meaning of each word in the idioms?

• Birthday Suit• Blowing one’s own horn• Bone to pick• Black Sheep• Have Cold Feet• Give the Cold Shoulder• Burn Bridge• Keep one’s fingers crossed

• Once in a Blue Moon• Jump on the bandwagon• Get Up on the Wrong Side

of the Bed• Bury the Hatchet• Pull Strings• Red Tape• Fly off the handle• When pigs fly

• Give the student clues about the idiom you see.

• Do not use the any words from the idiom when you are giving a clue.

Idioms

• Black Sheep:

“Uncle Tim was arrested last year, now he is the black sheep of the family.”

Idioms

• When pigs fly

“I will go on a date with you when pigs fly.”

Idioms

• Bone to pick:

“I’ve got a bone to pick with Bob, I heard he was making fun of me last night.”

Idioms

• Burn Bridges:

“Even though we had a fight, there is no need to burn bridges.”

Idioms

• Fly off the Handle:

“When Jack’s father found out about Jack’s bad grades, he really flew off the handle.”

Idioms

• Birthday Suit:

“You’ll be very cold in the winter if you walk around in only your birthday suit.”

Idioms

• Blowing one’s own horn:

“Tom always talks about his achievements, he is always blowing his own horn .”

Idioms

• Have Cold Feet:

“The backup goalie was called into the game, but he got cold feet and refused to go in.”

Idioms

• Keep One’s Fingers Crossed:

“Kelly is waiting to find out if she got into college; in the mean time she is keeping her fingers crossed.”

Idioms

• Give the Cold Shoulder:

“At the party, Carl tried to talk to Suzanne, but she gave him the cold shoulder.”

Idioms

• Once in a Blue Moon

“Once in a Blue Moon our basketball team will lose a game, but most of the time they win.”

Idioms

• Jump on the bandwagon:

“Everyone has a cell phone. I want to jump on the bandwagon, but my parents won’t let me buy a cell phone.”

Idioms

• Get Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed

“You’d better avoid the boss today, she got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

Idioms

• Red Tape

“Paula had hoped to buy a house quickly with no problems but got caught up in a lot of red tape.”

Idioms

• Bury the Hatchet:

“We have been fighting for many years, let’s bury the hatchet.”

Idioms

• Pull Strings

“Pat was officially interviewed for the job, but he also had his uncle pull some strings for him to get the job.”

Make a sentence for each idiom

• Birthday Suit• Blowing one’s own horn• Bone to pick• Black Sheep• Have Cold Feet• Give the Cold Shoulder• Burn Bridge• Keep one’s fingers crossed

• Once in a Blue Moon• Jump on the bandwagon• Get Up on the Wrong Side

of the Bed• Bury the Hatchet• Pull Strings• Red Tape• Fly off the handle• When pigs fly